The domain name AI.com has undergone another change in ownership, highlighting the value and competition around the artificial intelligence branding space.
It was previously redirected to OpenAI, while the company never confirmed the purchase of the domain. Experts estimated its value at over $3 million, given the current hype around AI.
AI.com now redirects to X.ai, a new AI research company founded by Elon Musk. The reason for the domain transferring from OpenAI to X.ai is unclear. It may have decided against using the AI.com brand long-term or sold it for profit in a private deal.
This latest transfer continues the saga around the AI.com domain, which has traded hands between tech companies and speculators for over 20 years. Allegedly, Google was the first owner of the domain name during the “AI boom” in the 1990s.
Two-letter .com domains are rare assets, especially when forming a recognizable term like “AI.” X.ai likely sees owning AI.com as an investment in establishing its brand.
While AI.com may seem like a digital trophy, its owner still faces the challenge of building substance behind the domain. OpenAI gained attention through AI models like DALL-E and ChatGPT, not a website. X.ai, too, will need to demonstrate meaningful progress in AI to capitalize on the branding potential of AI.com fully.
In July, Elon Musk said that his AI company will “understand the true nature of the universe.” xAI is still in its early stage, but Musk has already made some significant hires. The company’s chief executive officer is Ilya Sutskever, a former research director at OpenAI. Other key hires include Igor Babuschkin and Manuel Kroiss, who worked on Google’s DeepMind project.
xAI’s focus on transparency and accountability is a key part of Musk’s vision for safe AI. The company plans to develop AI systems to explain its decisions to humans and be held accountable for their actions.
Source: TechCrunch